


Rathtar Rendezvous at Maz's

by QueenOfCarrotFlowers



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, han solo mention - Freeform, maz's castle, rathtars - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 15:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18096821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfCarrotFlowers/pseuds/QueenOfCarrotFlowers
Summary: Captain Canady takes a day off to visit Maz.





	Rathtar Rendezvous at Maz's

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LoveThemFiercely](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveThemFiercely/gifts), [flypaper_brain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flypaper_brain/gifts).



> This fic is for the [Rare Ships Challenge on Pillowfort](). My prompt was Canady & Maz + Rathtars. Super duper thanks to lovethemfiercely for her supreme beta assistance!
> 
> Please note that I am shit at titles, and that no rathtars actually appear in person (as it were) in this story. For that, I apologize. I hope you'll read this anyway.
> 
> Gifted to Love and Fly, just because I can.

He was wearing fatigues and a helmet, and carrying an old blaster - an ensemble that should have identified him as a smuggler, or perhaps a bounty hunter - but old Maz Kanata recognized him right away. He knew she would; she’d recognize the shape of his body, the way he walked, or how he held his head. The bartender remembered everyone; she was dependable that way.

“Moden Canady,” she said, scooting the tall Cassandra Sunrise - his usual, unasked-for - across the bar with a grin and a wink.

“Maz,” he replied, removing the lower face plate of the helmet so he could take a sip of the cool, spicy drink while remaining anonymous to the rest of the people in the loud, crowded bar.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” she said as she wiped down the bar with an old rag. “I hear there’s something brewing, didn’t think they’d be able to spare anyone.”

She didn’t specify who  _ they _ was, and she didn’t sound surprised; he laughed, as she must have expected him to. Captain Canady of the First Order and Maz Kanata of Takodana had been friends for years and had known each other even longer than that, since he started coming to her watering hole as a fresh cadet, but she usually knew better than to ask questions. 

He couldn’t decide what her angle was. Was she warning him that people were talking, was she actually  _ trying _ to get information - a fool’s errand - or was she just messing with him? Another sip and a look in her eyes and he still wasn’t sure - she was completely opaque. There was, in fact, something brewing - something big - and he’d had to beg General Hux for these few days of leave; an experience which was, to be honest, more than slightly humiliating. So he shrugged, and pulled over the bowl of root chips that she’d placed just down the bar. 

“I suppose they figure they can spare me. What are you up to, Maz? It’s been a while.”

He crunched and sipped while she mixed a drink for another customer, then came back to him, leaning across the bar and speaking under her breath.

“Heard a rumor that Han Solo is back to his old tricks.”

This was interesting - rumors having to do with Han Solo usually were. “Really. Old tricks, like smuggling? Or old tricks, like…”

Maz rolled her eyes, the movement exaggerated through her goggles. “As though I would mention it if it were. I mean smuggling, of course. Get this: he’s back with Chewie, and they’re smuggling rathtars for King Prana. Han got loans from Kanjiklub  _ and _ the Guavian Death Gang to do it.” She poked a finger in his face to punctuate her news.

Canady almost spat out his drink, and he did choke to keep it from happening. Maz howled at his expense, and wandered off to make another drink while he got himself back under control. Eventually he did, and when she returned he swallowed down the soreness in his chest and gasped, “Well  _ there’s _ a trick. That seems reckless, even for him.”

Maz nodded and sighed. “He sure is a piece of work.  _ Rathtars _ , of all things.”

He knew this was an invitation; Canady’s single experience with rathtars was well-known and frequently discussed, but he was always happy to talk about it, given the opportunity.

“You know, Maz,” he said, swirling the dredges of his drink in the bottom of his glass, “I’ve had some experience with rathtars.”

“Oh, you have?” she replied, with eyebrows raised and a cheeky grin that made him blush. 

“Mmm hmm. I was in the first contingent that arrived at the tail end of the Trillian Massacre. We were tasked with clearing out the last of the rathtars. It was a mess; considering their size those things can be very sneaky. We were lucky, since they'd already fed well they were slow by the time we arrived, but they were still nasty and killed more than a handful of men in my group.”

As Canady was talking Maz passed him another Cassandra Sunrise, and he paused to moisten his lips while she nodded and continued mixing drinks for other customers. She'd heard the story a dozen times at least, but she listened, every time.

“At the very end I was with Ian Niedra, he’d been in my first battalion, known him for a few years by then; he was the closest thing I had to a friend. We found a hidden compartment, something clearly designed for smuggling but the rathtars had very cleverly reused it for a nursery. The rathtar in there was just a baby, but baby rathtars are still rathtars. That thing grabbed Niedra around the neck and had him in it's mouth before you could call him a nerf herder. I killed it, but it was too late.”

Canady sighed, and took another gulp, and accepted the clean, dry rag that Maz passed across the bar with a nod. He wiped his face while she murmured.

“A good man, Ian Niedra. Not too many of those, these days.”

Canady chuckled and tossed the rag on the bar. “Indeed not. You would not believe the incompetence I have to work with, young men and women, untrained but thoroughly convinced of their own abilities. It's laughable, and it's going to cost us.” He paused, and took in her grin. “Don’t tell anyone I said that.”

She laughed. “I wouldn’t  _ dream _ .”

He drained the glass and considered a third when Maz's voice sounded in his ear, full of amusement. “Well speak of the devil, and you should probably go,” and she threw herself around the bar and shouted, “ _ HAAAAN SOLO _ !!!”

This was definitely the Captain's signal to leave. He and Solo liked each other well enough, but with things as they were politically, it really wasn't the best time to catch up. Another time; there would always be another time in Maz’s Castle.

Canady tossed a generous handful of credits on the bar, attached the lower portion back on his helmet, picked up the blaster, and made his way out past Solo - looking worse for wear - and his two young companions, trailed closely by an orange and white BB unit. He should call it in, really he should, but he’d seen Bazine Netal inside cuddling up with Grummgar. She’d see it; let her take the credit. Canady had enough to worry about; he just wanted to keep his head down until he got back to the Order.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm leofgyth on Tumblr and my blog is a Canady positive space, come say hello!


End file.
